


Beneath the Waves

by jamesilver



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Mermaids, Pirates, Siren draco, Sirens, Suicide Attempt, but it’s only referenced once, but not a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 14:41:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14083167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamesilver/pseuds/jamesilver
Summary: In hindsight, trying to steal from pirates was not Harry’s best plan so far.The pirates had caught him and he had been sentenced to death. By siren. This meant that they had tied him to a post and then sailed to where they knew the sirens would be. They would then all put in their earplugs and cut Harry loose, causing him to dive to his death among the rocks and man-eating sirens.So far it was at least turning out to be a fun day. And, at least he wasn’t going to die in a way that was bland, right? It would be fun. Interesting.Then the sirens began to sing.Something about the song was alluring and, sure, if Harry closed his eyes his mouth went dry and his muscles went slack and he felt like he was in heaven, but all he had to do was blink and things shifted back into focus.Everyone had heard stories of men flinging themselves to their deaths, crashing their ships on the sirens’ rocks to claw their way to the sirens because of their songs, yet Harry was able to remain coherent enough to know that was dangerous.How?





	Beneath the Waves

"We're nearing the rocks. Everyone put in ya ear plugs,” called out a deckhand.

Harry took a deep breath, knowing it was no use trying to struggle against the ropes they had him tied in. He simply had to face death as it would come to him.

In hindsight, trying to steal from pirates was not his best plan so far.

At least his friends were lucky and had been able to slip away. But, now Harry was doomed. The pirates had caught him and he had been sentenced to death. By siren. This meant that they had tied him to a post and then sailed to where they knew the sirens would be. They would then all put in their earplugs and cut Harry loose, causing him to dive to his death among the rocks and man-eating sirens.

So far it was at least turning out to be a fun day. And, at least he wasn’t going to die in a way that was bland, right? It would be fun. Interesting.

Then the sirens began to sing.

Harry glanced around, clearly seeing that some of the pirates were still affected by the song despite their earplugs. A few began walking toward him, ready to cut him free. But, there was only one thing:

Only part of Harry felt like diving into the waters to his death.

Something about the song was alluring and, sure, if Harry closed his eyes his mouth went dry and his muscles went slack and he felt like he was in heaven, but all he had to do was blink and things shifted back into focus.

Everyone had heard stories of men flinging themselves to their deaths, crashing their ships on the sirens’ rocks to claw their way to the sirens because of their songs, yet Harry was able to remain coherent enough to know that was dangerous.

How?

It was then that he felt the ropes begin to fall away from him and noticed that he was being cut free. There was no urge to run.

A few of the pirates began glancing back and forth at one another, unsure. Of course, they had all assumed he would be nothing more than a splash by now. But he didn’t move.

The captain walked over to him, unsheathing her sword and using it to nudge him closer to the edge of the ship, his hands still tied behind him. The point of her sword dug into his back as she placed him right at the edge of the ship.

Harry looked down and saw the gathering of about half a dozen sirens gazing up at him, arms outstretched, beckoning him. Now, Harry had also heard tales of what sirens looked like and he blinked harshly, trying to reconcile those with what he was seeing. They were hideous.

All had seaweed stuck in their hair, which was clumping in parts and pressing up against their heads. Obviously, as they just come rising up out of the water. Wet hair presses against your head and everyone knows that isn’t sexy. Harry stared at them, tilting his head in confusion. Men jumped to their deaths for _this_?

Not to mention that their nails were sharpened to tips. Even from his position up on the boat, Harry could see that there were bits and flecks of blood and flesh underneath the nails. He made a face, taking half a step back and trying not to gag. He was forced back by the point of the Captain’s sword.

And this wasn’t even covering their mouths. All of the sirens sprouted full sets of razor-sharp teeth. It was like an entire mouthful of what vampires use to suck people’s blood—another myth Harry was now seriously reconsidering after seeing these sirens. They clearly weren’t what everyone was describing. Did the Captain take them to the right place? Were these some knock-off sirens that didn’t really do their job correctly? Harry was confused. He was not jumping to his death for _that_.

His heart stopped when they quieted and another rose out of the water, off in the distance. Too far for Harry to see well.

And then began to sing.

Harry’s breath caught in his throat. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. Tears began streaming down his face and he was powerless to stop them, moved so by the sounds. The siren began swimming closer and the ones gathered by the boat scattered in their presence.

When the siren grew closer, Harry was able to see what they looked like. Kneeling down to get a better look, Harry made out white blonde hair and pale skin. A man.

He swam close to the edge of the ship, his song coming softly and he raised a single hand towards Harry. Enraptured, Harry leaned forward to take it, staring into the grey eyes of the siren.

When his fingertips were only inches away, he blinked and it all came crashing back to him. If he took this siren’s hand, he would pull Harry down to the bottom of the ocean where no matter how he struggled, he would drown and the sirens would eat him.

Harry yanked his hand back, throwing all of his weight behind him and scrambling backwards on his hands and knees, panting. From beneath, he heard some sort of a cry and there was a banging on the side of the ship.

It was now that Harry looked up and saw that the Captain and crew were staring at him in awe. The Captain gave a signal and the boat began to turn around. From the water, the sirens could be heard crying out in frustration—they had failed to dine today.  
  
Harry didn’t move from his position on the deck, staring up at the Captain and crew, wondering why they hadn’t just thrown him overboard. The sirens surely would have taken him and he would be dead like they wanted.

When they were far enough away from the rocks that the song couldn’t be heard any more, the Captain gave another signal and the crew all began to remove their earplugs at once. With a snap of her fingers, the anchor was lowered and the boat floated in the water, on pause like everything Harry was feeling.

The Captain began to approach him and at her movement the entire crew began crowding around, parting for her. Harry still didn’t stand. He didn’t know if that would get him killed or not.

She stopped a few feet from him, seeming to not want to go any closer. “You are one that can resist the sirens,” she said. “How did you do that?”

Harry shrugged. He didn’t know. He had never encountered sirens before and they were nothing like everyone had described them to be. “How can you not? Their song is nice, yeah, but it isn’t the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. And, they aren’t even all that pretty. In fact, their pretty disgusting. That last one though....” Harry whistled low under his breath. “That last one was something.”

The Captain rolled up her sleeve, showcasing gruesome scars that wrapped around her lower arm. They were thick and white and had clearly been gouged deep when she got them. “This is from a siren,” she said. “I was once ambushed by one when I was younger. Typically those who are young can resist them more. But, you’re my age. Anyway, I was leaning down exactly like you had but since I was only eight I was able to realize what I was doing and I pulled my hand back. She tried to grab me anyway. Twenty years later there’s no way I would be able to resist them the same.”

Harry met her eyes, somewhat challenging. “Well then, how did I?”

The Captain straightened up, her crew immediately jumping back to order. “Set course for Katwan. I know who we need to see about this.”

__________

The Captain marched Harry through the streets of the grimy port town, his hands still tied behind his back. Apparently he wasn’t forgiven quite yet. She took him through back alleys and then through a shop and into a back room where she threw him into a chair and told him to wait. Two of her crew were left with him while the Captain went back to the front of the store.

It wasn’t long before the Captain reappeared, accompanied this time by a woman. Her hair was long and curly and the moment she set eyes on Harry, she smiled. “So this is him?” She asked before coming to sit across from him.

She stretched her hands out and placed them face up on the table, making a motion with her fingers that indicated she wanted Harry to place his hands in hers.

He raised an eyebrow. “Who are you?” He asked.

“They call me the witch.” She smiled, then glanced at the Captain. “Untie his hands. I need them. Then leave us.”

One of the crew members leaned down and took a knife to the bonds. Harry pulled his hands in front of himself, rubbing his wrists, still reluctant to place his hands in the witch’s.

The room emptied and the two were left on opposing ends of the table.

“Yes, but who are you?” Harry asked.

“My name is Hermione. People come to me to answer their questions. I will answer yours freely now that the rest are gone.” She leaned forward, hands still outstretched. “So is it true? Can you really resist the sirens? I’ve only met one like you before.”

Harry’s eyebrows shot up. There was someone like him?

“Oh, yes,” Hermione said, judging what he was thinking by the look in his eyes. “He was a small fellow. Rich. You could tell he had never sailed a day in his life. But a stray siren found him and he wasn’t affected. It was after that he was brought to me.”

“Well, great,” Harry said. “So do you know why this is happening? Because I always hear stories about people throwing themselves to their deaths for sirens’ songs and I just don’t get it.”

“Harry,” Hermione said. Strange, Harry didn’t remember giving her his name. “People don’t just throw themselves overboard for sirens. I’ve seen those who have killed in order to jump in the water. Yet, you were unaffected.”

“What does it mean?” Harry asked. For some reason he wasn’t sure if she would tell him.

Hermione glanced down at the table where Harry had still not taken her hands. He made no move and she sighed, leaving them as she continued talking. “Do you have woman waiting on you? Back home? A pretty face to get back to?”

Harry’s brows knit together in confusion. “No, I don’t.” Why would she ask him that?

“Aw,” Hermione made a pouty face. “Did she leave you?”

Now, Harry raised an eyebrow, seriously beginning to doubt her expertise as a witch. “Who is ‘she?’” Harry used air quotes. “There’s never been a ‘she.’ I’ve just never wanted that kind of—“

“Just as I thought,” Hermione said, cutting him off. Harry raised his eyebrows in indignation. She glanced to the side muttering to herself. “He was the same way,” she whispered.

“What way?” Harry said, drawing her attention back.

“There’s never been a woman?” The witch asked.

“Never,” Harry responded, evenly.

She straightened her shoulders. “The sirens didn’t affect you because they’re women. You don’t like women, therefore they have no power over you. Draco was the same.”

“Draco?” Harry asked. “Is that—is that the other person who could resist them?”

Hermione nodded. “He did, however, say that something else came to him. Something that wasn’t quite a siren. It beckoned him. Did anything like this happen to you?”

Harry thought back to the thing that had approached the boat; he had thought it was a siren, but Hermione was right—sirens are all female. This one was a man.

“Yes,” Harry said, excitedly. “It was like...another siren, but male?”

Once more, Hermione looked off to her side and began talking to herself. “It’s just as I suspected. Through my research. I think—“ She stood abruptly, walking over to an adjacent bookshelf and beginning to dig through it, pulling out books and flipping through them before huffing and snapping them shut. “Aha!” She exclaimed, pointing to an open page.

Walking back over to the table, Hermione placed the book in front of Harry. “There is lore about a colony of male sirens. Extremely rare. Even finding information on the subject is incredibly difficult.” She pushed the book towards him and Harry took a glance down. On the page was an ornate drawing of a man leaning down from a pier, stretching his hand to what was clearly a male siren.

“Even this book,” Hermione continued. “Only has the one photo. Finding information on such a thing is near impossible. I have tried to talk to as many sailors as I can and you and Draco are the only ones who have ever seen such a thing.”

Harry glanced up. “Do you think it’s because we can resist the female sirens?”

Hermione gave a solemn nod. “I believe so. The song of the male sirens is enticing to you unlike that of the female sirens, yes?”

Harry nodded in return, thinking back to how he must have looked exactly like the drawing on display beneath him. “How else are they different? Why do they not live with the other sirens?”

The witch shrugged, sitting back down across from Harry. “I do not know.”

“And what do they eat? You think if they are humans like the other sirens there would be more accounts of encountering them.”

“There’s always a chance sailors saw them and mistook them for female sirens. However, I do not think that is the case. I do not know enough about these male sirens to answer your questions and I do believe our time is up.”

A confused look crossed Harry’s face. “What do you mean our time is up?”

“Captain Bellatrix only gave me a certain amount of time to confirm that you are able to resist the sirens. She is going to take you back on her ship with you. Said that your sentence will be carried out working for her and teaching her and her crew to resist the sirens.”

Harry threw his hands up. “I don’t know how I’m resisting them! I can’t teach that!”

Hermione laid her hand on top of his. “You can resist them because you are not attracted to women. I told you this.”

Harry held Hermione eyes. “What happened to Draco?”

She blinked, breaking their eye contact and moving her hand away, seeming to retreat within herself. “Same as you. Taken by a pirate Captain. I only saw him the once.” Her expression turned bleak, sadness crossing her face.

The thought had Harry’s mouth running dry, a cold chill seeping into his bones. What was Captain Bellatrix planning on doing with him?

Before he could ask Hermione any more questions, Bellatrix and her goons were back in the room, Bellatrix herself clearly upset that the witch had taken so much of her precious time.

“So,” the Captain asked, her arms crossed. “Is he one of them?”

Hermione met her yes causally. “No.”

Without further hesitation, Bellatrix grabbed Harry by the arms, hauling him out of the seat and throwing him at the two deckhands that had accompanied her. Then, she drew her sword, pressing the tip into the soft skin of Hermione’s throat. “You best keep in mind that lying to me, witch, is never smart.” She turned, signaling to her crew that it was time to leave and Harry was hauled out of the room without time to ask anything else of Hermione.

What the witch had said about Draco was still weighing heavily on his mind. There was someone else out there who had been able to resist the sirens and he had been used by a pirate Captain, same as was happening to Harry now.

Something inside Harry was tugging at his heart, compelling him to find this man.

Bellatrix’s crew dragged him back to the ship behind her and he was thrown onto the deck against his will. The Captain looked around, surveying the crew. “This man here can resist the sirens. Since we cannot have him dive to his own death, he is going to stay on this ship and protect us from the sirens. He will teach us how to resist them. Set source for the rocks again. We’ll run our first test there.”

Harry’s hands were left unbound this time but he was guarded on all sides by some of Bellatrix’s crew, swords at the ready. When they neared the rocks, the Captain approached him again.

She held up a hand to signal a halt and the ship dropped anchor, floating to a stop. Walking towards Harry, Bellatrix drew her sword and pressed it against his neck.

“All deckhands put in your earplugs,” she yelled, not breaking eye contact with Harry. All of her crew complied before she leaned forward and spoke to Harry. “Tell me the secret. Teach me.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. If she was planning on killing him if he couldn’t tell her how to resist the sirens, then he was going to die anyway. “There isn’t a secret. Some people are just gifted,” he shrugged.

He winced as the sword was pressed harder against his throat. The boat around them was still stationary but it was then that the Captain’s head snapped to the left, her attention drawn by something at sea.

Her sword clattered to the deck and she was entranced.

It was then that Harry heard it: he distant screeching of the sirens.

It was far enough that Captain Bellatrix wasn’t launching herself into the water yet, but she did signal for her crew to hold her back. Two strong looking deckhands came forward and grabbed a hold of her.

The singing began getting louder and Bellatrix began kicking and screaming, desperately trying to throw off her crewmen. Once the sirens appeared into view, however, she almost broke free and more of the crew came rushing over to hold her down, all while the first mate signaled to get the boat away from here.

It wasn’t until the song of the sirens was minutes behind them that Bellatrix’s pupils returned to a normal size and she lay, panting, on the deck. Her eyes met Harry’s and he knew she had come up with some radical lie to herself that he had somehow made her resist the sirens.

Something told Harry he was going to be on this ship for a long time.

__________

That long time turned out being two years. Harry was put to work as a normal deckhand, learning how to deal with a ship. They didn’t encounter any sirens in those two years so Bellatrix wasn’t able to test her theory—which was basically that Harry was a siren good luck charm. But Harry didn’t care. Hermione has basically told him this would happen.

They also hadn’t let Harry off the ship for two years, even the few times that they docked. He was always locked in the brig during those times, Bellatrix saying that she didn’t want him to run away. So here Harry remained, no end in sight of this servitude.

That is until they happened upon some sirens accidentally.

It was a day just like most: the sun was shining but couldn’t be seen too well past the clouds of a normal sea and the waves weren’t serene but there clearly wasn’t a storm coming. A typical day until the mist.

The mist descended on the ship unexpectedly, like a cloud floating down from the heavens to rest on their deck. A small panic had broken out: nothing could be seen from the mast and no matter how many lights they shined out over the water, they refused to penetrate the fog.

“Captain Bellatrix,” a deckhand said, approaching the Captain. “What do you advise we do?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. “Drop anchor. We’ll wait for it to clear.” Next thing Harry knew, the anchor was resting on the floor of the ocean.

The crew sat in quiet anticipation, shuffling every now and then. Inside the mist it was eerily quiet and Harry felt like he was in a horror story in which a monster would jump out and sink the ship at any moment. Every creak of the boat would send whispers through the still crew. Every puff of breeze would cause at least one shriek. Tension was mounting on deck.

When they first heard movement in the water, half of the crew startled, causing the ship to give a slight rock. Harry jolted a hand out against the railing of the deck to steady himself before taking a peek over the side to the water. The fog, however, was so thick he couldn’t even see the surface.

The entire crew strained to listen for any sounds of movement again. It wasn’t until most had convinced themselves that it was only a product of their imagination that they heard it again. This time, however, it didn’t stop right away. And this time, the fog near the water began to recede.

Harry wasn’t sure if he wanted to watch. They were anchored, floating in what may as well be the doldrums for there was no air. If this was a monster creeping up on them, they would all die. They were floating, helpless prey.

Leaning forward, he knew he had to watch. By now, the mist had rolled back that Harry could glimpse the few meters of surface near the starboard. His breath caught in his throat when ripples began to appear in that area. He nearly jumped when they crashed into the side of the ship, but they were small waves. The crew probably didn’t even feel them. Probably didn’t even know how close their death was to them.

And that’s when he saw it—he swore it was a human hand.

A few more seconds passed and Harry held his breath. Whatever was in the water was about to reveal itself.

It swam out into the open.

Harry’s mouth fell open. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was the siren. The male siren. The one that he had seen two years ago when he had discovered his unique ability.

From the surface of the water, the pale siren smiled up at him. It was a wide smile, one that showed teeth and Harry was shocked to see that they weren’t all razor-sharp vampire teeth like the other sirens he had seen. In fact, this...whatever this was it was nothing like the sirens Harry had encountered two years ago. Instead of gross clumps of seaweed tangled in his hair, he had shells sophisticatedly braided into his long hair, the ends of which floated in a circle around him.

His skin was pale, but had an underlying blue sparkle to it. It was gorgeous. Harry wanted to touch it. And his eyes. Oh, his eyes.

That was one of Harry’s biggest problems believing the other sirens: their eyes looked demonic and fake. This one, however. Oh, they looked human.

They were grey like the stormy sea, like the mist surrounding him. And they were open. Something about those eyes—Harry felt like they held the answers to everything he had ever wanted an answer to. Perfection.

The, for lack of a better term, male siren stretched a hand up towards the boat like he did last time. A soft ripple emanated as he moved. He didn’t appear to even be treading water, just floating there like a sea god.

Harry was about to snap himself out of all of this nonsense when the male siren spoke.

“Hello,” was what he said.

Blinking, Harry leaned back a centimeter or two. What was happening?

“Yes, you. I see you. You’re confused.”

Still unsure as to what was really going on—was the mist making him hallucinate—Harry decided to answer.

“What are you?”

“I’m something unique. _We’re_ something unique. I’d like to show you where you belong. You are, after all, one of us.”

What if this was just a trick? Just a trick to get Harry to dive into the water so the siren could feast on his flesh and bones?

“ _Who_ are you?” Harry decided to ask this time.

“My name is Draco.” When he said those words, Harry’s world stopped. “You’re just like me, aren’t you?” he asked. “The sirens. They don’t affect you.” When Harry didn’t respond, Draco nodded toward his still outstretched hand. “Let me show you.”

Not believing what he was doing, Harry grabbed the railing and placed a foot on it, propping himself up before arching into a dive into the water.

It should have been icy cold, he knew. But it wasn’t. Instead, the water wrapped around him like a comforting blanket, something Harry had never felt before. The strangest part about it all was that Harry found he didn’t have the need to surface immediately. It startled him, but something inside of him knew that if he inhaled he would not drown. He would not choke. He would not die.

Then he realized that Draco was floating there, underwater, beside him. “I know. It’s terrifying at first. But you can do it. You can breathe.” Harry was still having a hard time processing the fact that Draco was speaking underwater _and that Harry could hear him_ that he didn’t even notice when he started breathing naturally while he thought.

When he realized what he was doing, his entire body jolted. He was doing it. He was breathing underwater.

He looked at Draco in wonder, the thought just now registering that the saltwater wasn’t stinging his eyes at all.

“What is happening?” Harry asked. Miraculously, he was able to hear Draco’s responding laugh.

“Come with me. I’ll show you. I’ll explain everything.” This time when Draco held out a hand to Harry, he took it.

As they began swimming, Draco leading the way, Harry remembered what he had been thinking earlier: Draco had been floating there as if he wasn’t kicking. Now, Harry looked back and saw that, yes indeed Draco did have a tail like the other sirens. Beside his tail were Harry’s feet, kicking far too lazily for the speed at which they were traveling. And it was amazing.

The ocean was incredible beneath the surface. If only Harry had known what this all was like he would have jumped into the water years ago, but he had been landlocked his entire life. He had never even touched the ocean before this which truly explained a lot. Either that or he was still hallucinating. His mind hadn’t decided which yet.

It wasn’t long before Harry was able to make out the outline of something in the distance. Like a structure of some sort. As they drew closer, Harry was able to see that it was clearly an underwater city, except the buildings all seemed to be large shells. Draco swam them to the edge of the town and there they waited.

As they drew to a stop, a woman like Draco came out from one of the shells. “Have you found one of our own?” She asked. When Draco nodded, she spoke again. “Come. Let us take him to the elders.”

She guided them into the city and Harry quickly lost track of where they were and what they were doing. His attention kept being redirected to all of the beautiful wonders around him. So much so that he barely realized he was in front of the elders before he was literally in front of the elders.

The one in the middle, a happy looking woman, was the one who explained everything to Harry, her voice like ringing bells. The entire time, however, Draco did not let go of Harry’s hand.

“You, my dear, are part of a special race. We are a sister race to those of the sirens, yet much less violent. Essentially we have all of the same properties except diet. Our ancestors chose to not eat our cousins. It is because of this that you are also able to see past the façade of our sisters: their tricks to lure in humans do not fool you, do they?” At this question, Harry shook his head. “Just as suspected.

“We don’t have many ways of finding our own. But one method that we do use is how Draco here found you. We will let him explain to you in his own time how he came to be with us. How he found you, however, I think I shall explain.”

Harry snuck a glance at the man holding his hand. What was this all about?

“In our society, our people each have one that we are connected to in a way. You and Draco have this special connection. It is because of this that he was able to find you and to bring you to us. Before I will let him give you a tour of where we live, there is one more thing we must tell you: you must choose if you are going to stay here or not. Because of how our species works, you must undergo a transformation to stay here permanently. Otherwise, you must return to your life on land. We will need an answer in two days’ time. Draco, you may take him around now.”

Draco nodded politely at the woman before tugging Harry out of the room.

“Okay, so...I’m confused,” was what Harry decided to lead with. Because he was. “What do they mean I have to make a decision? What do they mean that we’re connected?”

In response, Draco smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “It’s complicated. But, what it basically boils down to is we’re sort of...soulmates? I suppose?” Draco continued to talk casually, but Harry’s eyes were bugging out of his head. Soulmates? “Anyway you have to make a choice to become one of us fully. If you decide to do that, you have to stay here. If you decline the offer, you must leave forever.”

“I have two days to make a decision about the rest of my life with little to no information about what this life even is?”

Draco nodded. “Essentially.” They began moving throughout the city.

“How were you able to decide so quickly?”

“Well,” Draco began, seeming a little sad at the thought. “I found out what I was when I threw myself into the ocean. I didn’t drown. I saw some sirens and they weren’t appealing to me. Overall, it shocked me and I began panicking and swimming out. It was then that I saw what I thought was a male siren. It was one of us. But I left the ocean and tried to never looked back. After looking for information on what happened to me, I was essentially kidnapped by a pirate captain who tried to force me into teaching the ways of defending against the sirens.”

“The same thing happened to me,” Harry interjected. “But I didn’t know what to tell her. Especially now that I know that it isn’t something that can be taught.”

“Actually, we can teach humans to ignore the sirens’ tricks which is why we went into hiding in the first place. But, you’ll learn all about our history if you choose to stay. Anyway, I eventually grew to hate being on that ship and I once more threw myself into the ocean. Only this time, I knew what would happen. I sought out some sirens and was able to talk to them and—“

“You can talk to them?”

“Yes,” Draco nodded, giving him a look that told him to stop interrupting. “I was brought here. I was able to make the decision easily because I never quite liked my life before. I suppose that’s what you have to ask yourself: do you have anything to go back to? Anything that’s worth it?”

Harry thought about it for a moment. “I’m still not even sure if this is all real. I mean, let’s go back a moment—did you say soulmates? You and I are soulmates?”

At that, Draco laughed and suddenly it seemed make sense to Harry. Yeah, okay. He could be soulmates with this man. “Essentially that’s what it’s like. We’re connected. It doesn’t have to mean in a romantic way, either, so don’t freak out or anything.”

“I think I want to stay,” Harry blurred out.

Draco turned towards him, looking serious. “You don’t have to make the decision that quickly.”

“I don’t know. I just....I guess I never really had anyone now that I think about it. I’ve been pretty alone. Although...” He paused, thinking about Hermione. “I wish it wasn’t so permanent. Like I wish we could visit, you know?”

“Why?” Draco asked, and his voice was so sad that Harry didn’t know how to respond. It was like the mere thought of returning to that world depressed him.

“Do you remember meeting a witch? Her name was Hermione.”

“Yes.” At this, Draco smiled. “I actually do. She was one of the few good people I ever encountered.”

“I met her. She told me about you. But she was never able to get any closure because you vanished. I just kind of feel bad because now I’m going to vanish.”

“Vanishing from that world was all I ever wanted.” This time, Harry gave him a concerned look and he sighed. “I suppose I didn’t make it clear enough in my earlier story: when I found out what I was by throwing myself into the ocean and finding I could breathe...Harry, I couldn’t swim. I was trying to kill myself. Like I said, the human world never did me any good. It never held anything for me. That’s why I was able to make my decision so quickly.”

“I’m sorry to hear about that.”

Draco smiled, his mood brightening, although it may have been forced: Harry didn’t know him well enough to tell quite yet. “It was sad, yes,” Draco said. “But it led me to this.” He spread his arms out, indicating the vast city. Then, his eyes met Harry’s again. “It led me to you.”

They swam around the city for hours, discussing everything they could think of. It was hours later that they finally came to a rest.

Harry took Draco’s hand and looked down at it, unsure if he could quite look him in the eyes. He rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of Draco’s hand. “I meant what I said earlier. I want to stay here.”

“I’m glad,” Draco said. He brought a finger underneath Harry’s chin and lifted his face so that their eyes could meet. “We’ll talk to the elders and get this all sorted out tomorrow, alright?”

“Okay.”

__________

_Three Years Later_

There was a commotion coming from the entrance to the city. Harry and Draco both swam towards the sound; Draco grabbed Harry by the hand and pushed their way towards the front of the crowd where they could actually catch a glimpse of what was happening. And there, swimming up to the city all on her own was a seemingly human woman:

Hermione.

The two exchanged glances. What was she doing here? Was she one of them? They tried to catch her attention but she was swept away in the crowd and taken to the elders.

Most of the crowd died down fairly quickly once they realized that she would probably be in there for a while. Draco and Harry, however, were determined to speak to her as soon as possible, so they decided to wait outside.

Turns out, it wasn’t as long of a wait as everyone thought it would be. Hermione emerged after a bit of time, looking pleased and self assured. She didn’t even have a guide with her.

Barely a moment passed before she saw them and she hurried over, enveloping them both in a hug. “I figured it all out!” She said, excitedly. “The visits from both of you helped. After not finding any explanation about what happened with the two of you, I found a sailor who took me to where the sirens were so I could try and study them personally. It was then that I found that I was just like you! So I went back to my library and did some reworking and that’s when I pieced it all together! That part took me over a year and a half on its own. Trying to find books on this sort of information is unbelievably difficult.

“But, after I had it all figured out, I wasted no time in just jumping into the water. I figured whereabouts some sort of city would be based off of my research and what I knew about sirens and our species and I found it! Also, they just told me in there that I apparently have a soulmate? Could you help me find him? His name’s Ron Weasley and he—“

Draco groaned, cutting her off. “Your soulmate is Ron Weasley?!” He yelled. Draco rested his head on Harry’s shoulder. “I don’t know how to process this information.”

Harry, however, had a wide grin splitting his face. “Ron is my best friend! Come on, I’ll introduce you!”

They made their way to Ron’s home, chatting all the way—well, mostly Hermione talked and Harry and Draco listened. Once they arrived, however, the couple decided it would be a good idea to leave the new lovebirds on their own.

The two set out, wandering aimlessly. Draco took a hold of Harry’s hand. “Can you believe that three years ago that was us? All blushy and awkward?”

“Ah, young love,” Harry joked. “I’m so happy to be with you.”

“I’m glad you chose to stay, Harry.”

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

**Author's Note:**

> i honestly don’t even know what the fuck this is lmao
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!! Please feel free to leave a comment and/ or message me on [ tumblr ](https://www.shelvesuponshelves.tumblr.com)
> 
> I am also currently taking ficlet requests on [ tumblr ](https://www.shelvesuponshelves.tumblr.com)


End file.
